ATLANTA — It's another surprisingly pleasant day here in Atlanta, with mild temperatures and a nice breeze to boot. Not that the Nationals enjoyed the fine weather last night during one of their ugliest losses of the season.

They'll try to get back on track tonight, with John Lannan on the mound for the first time since taking a line drive off his face July 8 against the Rockies. What looked at the time like a potentially devastating injury instead turned out to be incredibly mild. The lefty suffered only a nasal contusion, and if you look at him now, you'd never know anything happened.

In talking to Lannan yesterday, he insisted he won't take the mound tonight worried about the same thing happening again. He does, however, plan to make a slight mechanical tweak, reverting to a form he used to use. On his follow-through, Lannan wants to tuck his head down and to the right a little more. He said he'd fallen into a bad habit of leaving his head up, which may have left him more susceptible to comebackers like the one last week.

Meanwhile, the Braves have painted a giant "10,000" into their outfield, in commemoration of the franchise's 10,000 all-time win last night. It sounds impressive, but they've also lost 9,992 games in their history. In fact, of the 16 original MLB franchise, the Braves' .5002 winning percentage ranks 12th (behind, among others, the Indians, Pirates and Cubs).

And finally, you'll notice in the above photo a big stage taking over the infield. The B-52s will be performing after tonight's game. So I'll be writing my game story with "Love Shack" blaring in the background. Can't wait…

In six games at Harrisburg, Harper is 5 for 21, all singles, with 6 strikeouts, .238 average. (But the team is now calling itself Harpersburg–that figures.) I think reality will set in for this guy and will help him mature. He is nowhere near ready for prime time, and talk of a September callup is probably one year premature. We wish him well, but he doesn't walk on water. Not yet, anyway.

Nix has an ongoing problem with his achilles. It makes it hard for him to play the field. If he wasn't one of the key hitters in the lineup he would in all probability be on the DL with Pudge. Its why Pudge is on the DL. He's become almost a purely defensive catcher with little to contribute offensively.

I'll be at the game tonight with some other Nats supporters. Hopefully we can get things back on track. The guys were simply not ready to play D last night. On the plus side, it was good to see Werth making more solid contact last night.I will NOT be sticking around for the B-52s concert.

I saw the B52's a couple of years ago at Wolf Trap. I did not go with high expectations but it was actually lots of fun. Looking forward to us bouncing back tonight and Emmy Lou Harris next Saturday.NatsLady, its only one game back but Nix was having a tough time of it in the games leading up to the All-Star break. Rest is probably a good thing. Go Nats!

Anon:Harper will not come up this year, but if you think his first five games in Harrisburg tell the tale, you're living in your own private Idaho.We've seen again and again — in Vegas, in the Arizona Fall League and in Hagerstown — that it takes Harper a few games to find his groove at the plate. Then look out…

I don't have an official position on the B52s (who evidently dropped a punctuation mark somewhere along the way), but my husband says they are the bomb.As for LannEn, all I can say isGo go go, Johnny, goJohnny B. Good(e)(Oh, and Nats too.)(hmmm, captcha is "slannan"?)

Yeah, tough for DP's. Could lead to an error or five if they don't take it down before the bottom of the 1st inningYeah, tough for DP's. Could lead to an error or five if they don't take it down before the bottom of the 1st inning.

Drew8 said "it takes Harper a few games to find his groove at the plate. Then look out…"Exactly right. And IIRC, same thing in spring training this year — nothing for a week and a half or so, then started to rake.However, I also agree with those who see that he needs the seasoning for all aspects of his game, especially if the FO (properly) wants him to be able to succeed at each step. I'd say the earliest we'll see him at Nats Park is early June 2012 after the Super 2 deadline, more likely after the trade deadline or a Sept. call up. But of course it fundamentally depends on how he does at each stage, so speculation by anyone is no more than that.

Grandstander said…Ha! Mark just got called out by Carp. Dodging fouls up there in the box, Mark? Stay alive!So I hear. Espinosa's foul ball caught me by surprise. To be honest, I wasn't paying attention. Was too busy counting how many different places they've got the number 10,000 written on the field here. I'm up to at least 4: Across the outfield, behind second base, at the back of the pitcher's mound and inside the tomahawk logo behind the plate. Apparently these folks have never heard of the concept of overkill.

@Sec3, I'm wearing my own bald head with a couple weeks of #1 buzz stubble on it.I know, you were talking to that other Dave, who's in the ballpark.This looks more like a game I'd like to watch on TV. Glad I missed last night. I was watching the Reduced Shakespeare Company at the KenCen, doing The Complete World of Sports (abridged). Very funny. You all ought to see it if you can. (I'm buddies with the RSC.)

natsfan1a: "the B52s … evidently dropped a punctuation mark . . ." Where do you put a punctuation mark? B52s is proper use for a plural. If it's possessive, B52 must be singular. (See "Eats Shoots and Leaves," funniest grammar book of modern age.)

NatsJack in Florida said… Brad Peacock is getting shelled in Syracuse. Two doubles, one walk, 2 home runs, and 5 earned with one out. July 16, 2011 7:20 PM _____________________________Isn't he still doing better than Stammen last night?

Three things that immediately come to mind:1. Desmond bounced back defensively. As long as he's this sharp defensively, I can live with minimal offensive production.2. Werth is finding his swing. Not an overly impressive line, but even on his K, he looked like he knew where he was and what he was doing. A marked improvement.3. Lannan is for real folks. Gritty performance tonight coming off that comebacker. He looked sharp right until the end.+1 point – Ryan Mattheus is filling that 7th inning role VERY nicely. What a steal! I'll take him over a half season of Biemel in a losing season.

Another observation was it was the best I have seen LannEn vs. lefties. He got 0'fers on Heyward and Freeman while McCann managed 1 hit up the middle.If Gorzo can do the same vs. the lefties and the Nats can get a few runs on Jurjens, lets see.A little disappointed that the Nats didn't seal a win a laugher in the last 3 innings when they had add-on runs sitting out there.

NatsLady said… Can we slow down on the "Get rid of Desmond" talk for a while? That was a great win. I would say typical, but, a 3-run laugher?!? July 16, 2011 10:17 PM ___________________________Uh, 7 game hitting streak, + a walk tonight and some stellar defensive plays.

Grandstander said… Gonat, a 3-run win for the Nats is a laugher. July 16, 2011 10:33 PM __________________________LMAO, yah, sort of true except I saw add-on runs that they should have had. Now Storen was happy to get a Save.

Thanks, Jim, as an editorial type, I am quite familiar with that book as well as with a number of style guides. However, I was referring to the fact that the band was originally known as the "B-52's" and later dropped the apostrophe. (Perhaps they did so after receiving copious missives from pinch-lipped editorial types such as myself, although I doubt that was the case. I never sent any such letter to them, but I'm guessing that they wouldn't give a rat's patoot what I think of their grammar skills anyway. ;-))Jim Webster said… natsfan1a: "the B52s … evidently dropped a punctuation mark . . ." Where do you put a punctuation mark? B52s is proper use for a plural. If it's possessive, B52 must be singular. (See "Eats Shoots and Leaves," funniest grammar book of modern age.) July 16, 2011 8:37 PM

just looked at the opp. batting ave. for Mattheus, Clip and Storen. pretty impressive, .150, .160 and .195. We also have HRod, Coffey and hopefully the two leftys will also contribute. have stressed how good our bullpen is for several months and it will continue to keep us in the hunt for a winning season. Nice to see us with 17 hits in the first two games of the season against a very good pitching staff. I realize its just one hit each game but for Werth and Desmond that is enough for me. Now, if they could only be hits that drive in runs, I will take the baby steps. Go Nats!!

On a game note, agree with all of Grandstander's points. I'm particularly happy for LannEn after the scare during his last start. Atta boy, Johnny!On an overkill win commemoration note, don't forget the 10,000 pennant, Mark. Lucky Braves, they get to keep it the same way for another day and won't have to send anyone out to amend the win totals in the various spots. Hope that they'll still be at 10K after tomorrow's game!

I'm glad I was able to see the game tonight and not yesterday. Desmond made two great plays to close it out, and Ramos absolutely crushed his bomb.I agree with Mark that the 10,000 win celebration was serious overkill. The stadium was hopping though, and I saw some other Nats fans, including a cute little girl wearing a Todd Coffey jersey who got Todd's attention in the bullpen, and was thrown an autographed ball. Turner is a nice place to watch a game, especially when the weather is cooler, as it was tonight. The Braves fans do the wave about 4 times a game, which hurts my soul. Also, the food selection at Nationals Park puts this place to shame.

Nice to see the team turn the page on last night and have a zero in the "E" column. Also nice to have more than a one run lead going into the ninth. Matt, Clip and Store – cool, calm and collected. Love it! Kudos to desi on the outstanding defensive plays tonight, MM for cleaning things up defensively, LannEn for the gritty pitching and awesome hitting. Werth looking slightly better and no Matt Stairs sightings. Ankiel continues to surprise. Sorry, fellow bloggers – I will be following the game tomorrow but anxiously watching the Women's World Cup soccer coverage.

Thanks for the report and for representing, Dave. I thought I sensed some wave activity during the broadcast. Cute story about the little Coffey fan (demitasse?). Maybe she likes to watch him run out to the mound.

On ESPN, it sounded like LannEn got hit again. Did I mishear that? I'm at the beach and ( my family is thrilled that) there is no way to see the game on TV here… I'm so glad they won. Thanks to Mark and you all for a sense of how it all went down!

Meanwhile, Solis and Rosenbaum are giving hitters Pfitz at Potomac.Tonight Solis got his third win in three starts since his promotion. His ERA is 2.84, pairing nicely with Rosenbaum's 2.64.I hope FEMA can chopper those two out of the swamp.

I told BinM Mattheus would turn out to be the real deal in the bullpen. Although Syracuse misses him … hopefully Zenicola and Severino can pick up the slack … but neither has managed to do that these past 2-3 years? Peacock really got shelled. I hope he isn't a pitcher who still needs Tomlin (the guy who ostensibly helped make him into a AA All Star) still with him. Its the one thing I feared when they promoted him. See John Lannan demotion 2010 season.

Can we slow down on the "Get rid of Desmond" talk for a while? That was a great win. I would say typical, but, a 3-run laugher?!?Looks like Davey put the lid on that tonight. And we know his word carries a lot of weight with the FO from Rizzo on down. Then … as I recall Davey used to play next to a shortstop named Mark "the blade" Belanger who was all about the glove … very little bat.

In six games at Harrisburg, Harper is 5 for 21, all singles, with 6 strikeouts, .238 average. (But the team is now calling itself Harpersburg–that figures.) I think reality will set in for this guy and will help him mature. He is nowhere near ready for prime time, and talk of a September callup is probably one year premature. We wish him well, but he doesn't walk on water. Not yet, anyway.Another way to look at the promotion (excluding the poor field conditions situation in Woodbridge) is that there might be a lot less pressure for Harper to perform. Unless there is a sudden promotion (and admittedly it could happen) of the entire heart of the lineup to AAA Syracuse, Harrisburg will continue cruising toward the playoffs, hopefully with some help from lefties Solis and Rosenbaum. Tyler Moore raised his average to .260 and hit his 19th home run. Rhinehart, Gilbert, and Rahl are still there. Guess they might miss Lombardozzi and Peacock … so hopefully Harper's bat will come around and the promotions aforementioned will occur sooner rather than later.